“I?m always grateful to Jeff Lacy for giving me the chance to prove I belonged in the Hall of Fame.??Joe Calzaghe
That boxing stories rarely end well is an old refrain, but it is one that resonated on January 30, 2015 in Mashantucket, Connecticut when Jeff ?Left Hook? Lacy (27-6) was battered and stopped on the undercard in 4 rounds by Sullivan Barrera. Here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRRRKiVRK_k
It wasn?t all that long ago when Lacy was being hyped as the next BIG thing in boxing, but that was then and this is now and now he seems in dangerous denial.
Fast Forward: Robin Reid vs. Jeff Lacy (2005)
While his wins against Syd Vanderpool, Rubin Williams, and Omar Sheika were impressive, Lacy?s beatdown of Robin Reid (38-4) was astonishing. Reid was a very live underdog. However, ?Left Hook? knocked down ?The Reaper Man? for the first time in his career in the fifth round. He did it again later in the round. Robin was dropped again in rounds six and seven. The ?Reaper? lost a point for a headbutt in round five and another point in the seventh round for holding. The referee finally stopped what had now become a shocking slaughter after round seven on advice of Reid?s corner. See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZmohDNUYJQ
Lacy, who sported an astonishing 209-12 amateur record, had seemingly reached the pinnacle of his pro career, After the Reid win, Jeff went to 20-0 as he dispatched Scott Pemberton in two rounds, setting up the super-hyped fight with Joe Calzaghe (40-0) in Manchester, UK with the IBF and WBO super middleweight titles at risk?and with Jeff the favorite. .Said Joe at the time, ??It was the only time in my career I was the underdog and everyone had written me off. If anything it motivated me even more to prove I was the best.?
Calzaghe vs. Lacy (2006)
Joe was right. Everyone had written him off. At BoxingScene.com, 27 staffers gave their opinions and 19 picked Lacey, most by knockout. They were not alone. Doghouse Boxing was 11-2 for Lacy and the Sweet Science staff was12-2. The American sports books had Lacy as the favorite. Even the British sports books had Lacy as the favorite.
Ron Borges led the parade as follows??I think in the end age and too many years fighting inferior competition will get to him. So will a Jeff Lacy left hook, one that will drop him and hurt him badly enough that he can?t continue. Jeff Lacy by TKO in 10?
The fight itself in 2006 has been fully vetted and needs minimal narrative here. Suffice it to say that Joe put on a clinic on and dismantled and bloodied ?Left Hook.? He quite simply took away Lacy?s will. The one-sided scores read 119-105, 119-107 and 119-107.
Post-Calzaghe-Post 2006
Lacy took off a year after which he ran off three straight wins against solid opposition including a rematch with Vitali Tsypko (19-1) on December 2, 2006. The first fight in 2004 ended in a NC due to a head-butt and resultant cut. Lacy won this one but just barely- by scores of 96-94, 96-94, 95-95. After the bout, it was revealed that Lacy had torn his rotator cuff and was injured throughout most of the fight. Lacy had surgery on the injury and did not fight for a year.
Nevertheless, Lacy bore little resemblance to the one that mugged Robin Reid. In 2008, as he lost a UD to Jermain Taylor (27-2-1) in a WBO Super Middleweight Title eliminator. The scorecards read 118-110, 119-109, and 119-109. The writing was now on the wall, for Jeff?s vaunted power seemed to have vanished.
After a MD win over limited Otis Griffin in 2009, Jeff suffered a humiliating TKO loss to Roy Jones, Jr, via a RTD after 10 rounds. It was almost surreal to watch this unfold, but then boxing is something that often offers surreal experiences.
Jeff then lost a shocking UD to feather-fisted Dhafir ?No Fear? Smith (then 23-19-7) in December 2010 and the scorecards again were dominant.
After almost three years following the defeat to Smith, Lacy returned on November 30, 2013 to win a 3rd round TKO over Martin Verdin (20-16-2) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It was his first stoppage win since the Pemberton KO way back in 2005. Then, after being brutalized by menacing Cuban Umberto Savage (12-1) in two rounds in 2014 (a fight in which he showed no head movement, jab, or chin), Lacey got a UD win over Timothy Hall Jr (9-19) over eight rounds. On January 30, 2015, Jeff was again manhandled by Cuban Sullivan Barrera (15-0). it was obvious Jeff had nothing left, as he was rocked with a right hand that sent him staggering into the ropes on wobbly legs. The fight was quickly, mercifully stopped by closely-watching referee Mike Ortega.
The 37 year-old Jeff Lacy has become a sacrificial lamb for prospects. If Jeff continues to fight, it will not end well. Someone needs to step in and counsel him because he is making too many excuses and that?s dangerous. As Teddy Atlas said, ?I don?t think he should fight anymore. He is a shot fighter. And shot fighters have no return tickets.
Hopefully, there will be no more YouTube?s to show.
